* TSX up 41.51 points, or 0.27 percent, at 15,486.73
* All of the 10 main index sectors advance
* WestJet jumps 4.3 percent after quarterly report
By John Tilak
TORONTO, July 29 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Tuesday as optimism ahead of several major U.S. economic
reports helped drive gains in every major sector, while shares
of WestJet Airlines Ltd jumped after the carrier
reported strong quarterly results.
A slew of economic data, including the monthly U.S. jobs
report, is on tap later this week, while the U.S. Federal
Reserve will put out a policy statement on Wednesday.
Investors brushed aside a fresh wave of violence in the
Middle East, as well as fighting in eastern Ukraine that killed
dozens of civilians, soldiers and rebels.
Data showing that U.S. single-family home prices fell in May
on a seasonally adjusted basis, missing market expectations,
also failed to dent market sentiment.
The Toronto stock market's benchmark index, which is up
about 13 percent this year, inched closer to the record high it
reached last week.
"We're going to keep bouncing along here until something
upsets the apple cart," said David Cockfield, managing director
and portfolio manager at Northland Wealth Management. "There's
still money on the sidelines that seems to be coming in."
He said that investors should be more cautious and have not
been taking geopolitical and economic risks seriously enough.
"The market is extremely complacent, which bothers me," he
said. "I'm not convinced at all that this market has the ability
to avoid a correction. With every day that passes, the
probability of a correction increases."
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
was up 41.51 points, or 0.27 percent, at 15,486.73.
All of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector,
climbed 0.3 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.5
percent to C$74.15, and Bank of Montreal gained 0.4
percent to C$82.68.
Shares of energy producers advanced despite lower oil
prices. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd added 0.5
percent to C$48.41, and Talisman Energy Inc was up 0.8
percent, at C$11.81.
WestJet posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit as
higher ticket prices and fees helped it offset steeper fuel
costs and a weaker Canadian dollar. The stock jumped 4.32
percent to C$28.60.
($1=$1.08 Canadian)
(Editing by Peter Galloway)